Tea For Two
by Mako3
Summary: Ciel gets dragged to a special kind of cafe where he meets a special kind of butler. Modern day AU. Cross-dressing. Shounen-ai.


Tea For Two

He'd refused to go with Elizabeth initially, stating that a place like that was for girls and he would have no place there. That argument, naturally, had not discouraged the young girl; she whipped out a fluffy little dress with matching hat and held it our for Ciel to try on. And, naturally, it fit perfectly. So Ciel was dragged to a place called 'The Swallowtail' on a Tuesday afternoon.

They were greeted at the door by an elderly gentleman who bid them a good day and asked if they had an appointment scheduled. Ciel had to give the man credit for his manners and politeness; if he had to be dragged to a place like this at least it seemed a palatable one. The gentleman directed them to a table and called for one of the butlers to serve. A tall, thin, and elegant man with black hair and enchanting dark eyes to match his smile came to their table then.

"My dear gentle ladies, this is Sebastian. He will be serving all your needs this afternoon. Please enjoy your stay at The Swallowtail," the older man said before resuming his post at the door. Sebastian stepped forward and bowed deeply to both Ciel and Elizabeth, though his eyes remained on Ciel for longer than necessary.

Sebastian was the perfect butler who brought them a splendid course of tea and pastries, saying nothing out of turn and yet delighting Elizabeth. Ciel was pleased as well, though he didn't show it on his face. When Elizabeth had had her fill of delicacies and conversation, Sebastian helped them stand and escorted them to the exit.

"Please do return again soon, my ladies." The small emphasis the butler put on 'ladies' made Ciel's eye twitch a bit. Could he possibly. . . know? Ciel shook it off and followed Elizabeth back to the train station. What did it matter if that butler knew he was actually a boy? It wasn't as if they'd be going back now that Elizabeth had had her fun.

The next week, Ciel began regretting his assessment of the situation when Elizabeth handed him a different, frilly little dress (with matching hat, of course) and told him to put it on as they were going to The Swallowtail again.

"I even asked for Sebastian to be our butler again! He was so perfect last time, don't you agree?" she chattered on while Ciel grudgingly changed. The butler, Sebastian, had been a perfect butler, but Ciel wasn't sure he wanted to see the man again. There was something about him. . .

At their second visit, Sebastian surprised Ciel and Elizabeth with a brand new dessert that went with their tea perfectly. Ciel was curious about the dessert, which was made mostly of meringue though it had a particular citrus crunch inside. At first bite his apathetic expression changed to surprised wonder, though he'd quickly gone back to apathy when Sebastian had leaned in with a close-lipped grin on his face.

"I'm glad my choice in dessert has proven to be to your liking, Lady Ciel," he'd said then, moving away to pour more tea into Elizabeth's cup. Ciel frowned and made sure to stay expressionless through the rest of the appointment, though Sebastian still smiled at him at every chance available.

Their third and fourth trips to The Swallowtail were uneventful and boring for Ciel as Sebastian was not their butler nor was he even at the café. After that, Elizabeth seemed to grow out of her obsession with butler cafes and moved on to cosplaying on the bridge in Harajuku every Sunday. She had tried to make Ciel dress up and come with her, but he finally drew the line on things he would do to pacify her. That Sunday, after Elizabeth had gone, Ciel fingered the first dress he'd worn to The Swallowtail, stroking the silky black material and pondering on what he was going to do for the rest of the day.

In a stroke of luck, Sebastian was free for a three o'clock appointment. Ciel slipped on the dress and made his way to the café. At the station gate in Ikebukuro he almost changed his mind and stepped back on the train to go home and read, but he'd already come this far. To go home now would mark him a coward, and Ciel was not going to let that happen.

He visited several more times alone, making sure Sebastian was his butler. The pair were becoming more familiar with each other, and Ciel found himself looking forward to his weekly visits to The Swallowtail.

On the thirteenth visit, Sebastian's smile had taken on a predatory edge as he served and pleased Ciel, even being so bold as to brush his gloved hand against Ciel's bare arm while refilling his cup. Ciel gasped at the contact but made no remark or reaction. At the end of their session, Sebastian took Ciel's hand in his own and bent down to give it a gentle kiss.

"I do hope you decide to return, my Ilady/I, as I would love to see you again," he told Ciel, somewhat mockingly, letting go of his hand and backing away with grace to fulfill his duties at another table.

Ciel decided not to go or even think about The Swallowtail at all after that. Elizabeth wondered about his more sour than normal attitude, but he waved off her concern, plunging himself into his studies. Weeks passed, but Ciel was still unhappy. Despite his vow to not think of the café, Ciel still found himself caught up in daydreams involving Sebastian. Some were simple dreams of tea and cakes while others involved the butler laying him down and stripping him of his dress to expose Ciel for what he really was. Those dreams kept him up at night and made his body yearn to visit The Swallowtail just once more. He was like an addiction, that man, and Ciel's resolve to quit was quickly crumbling.

On his fourteenth visit to The Swallowtail, Ciel dressed in his own clothing. He did not make an appointment, though as soon as he walked in the door the old gentleman grinned and directed him to a special table in the back that afforded more privacy than the others. Sebastian appeared then, looking altogether pleased with himself and setting down a tray of those meringue desserts that had brought such pleasure to Ciel.

"Ah, I see you have finally returned, Lord Ciel. I am grateful you have as I must admit I was beginning to miss you." Sebastian made no pretense in touching Ciel this time, running his gloved hand across Ciel's cheek in a sweet caress. Ciel gulped audibly but held steady, raising his eyes to meet the butler's and challenging him.

"I see. Well, I was busy with my studies and had no time to spare. I hope I didn't worry you," he replied, testing the waters.

"I did worry, my dearest Ciel." The butler didn't even hesitate in answering and his gaze was heavy.

"Hm, then I will give you this number to contact me. That way if I don't appear for a while you can get a hold of me and quell your worries." Ciel gave Sebastian a business card with his personal cell phone and e-mail address on it. Sebastian accepted the card and read it very carefully before placing it in his breast pocket.

"I thank you, Ciel Phantomhive." His thanks were sincere, but it was obvious he was waiting for more. Ciel took a bite of the pastry in front of him and followed it with his tea, prolonging his time in answering Sebastian's unasked question.

"I suppose. . . if there was some other reason you needed to contact me. . . I would not be adverse to it."

The fox grin was full in place as Sebastian topped off Ciel's cup. "Delightful."


End file.
